The ability of EGF to accelerate the metabolism of epithelial cells and its stimulatory effect on the healing of wounds such as skin and gastric ulcers, burns and corneal injuries suggested its potential application to the treatment of diabetes foot ulcer. However, while EGF has been shown to promote healing of corneal and burn wounds at a concentration of 10 μg/ml, EGF failed to promote epithelization in wounds of patients suffering from venous stasis ulcers at the same concentration.
Diabetic foot ulcer is a major complication of diabetes mellitus. People with diabetes mellitus may have a five to fifteen times higher risk of non-traumatic amputation compared with non-diabetes. Between 1996-1998 diabetic patients accounted for 47% of all the lower limb amputations performed in a local Hong Kong hospital. In general, although some patients can be healed with traditional methods, diabetic foot ulcers can be difficult to heal in some patients and frequently lead to amputation if complicated by infection and gangrene. Several new treatment modalities such as an oxygen chamber, platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), and various local dressings have reported various degree of success. The efficacy of such methods may be relatively low, with some of such methods requiring at least 6 months for healing.
Besides diabetic foot ulcer, bedsores and large/deep surgical wounds may be difficult to heal even under medication, probably resulting from the large areas involved. If these wounds are not treated in time, they will deteriorate and subsequently may become incurable and life threatening. Therefore, an effective medical treatment may not only help the patients recover from these skin complications, but may also lead them to a better quality of life, reduced medical care or expense, or even a prolonged life span. Unfortunately, current treatment methods may not be able to provide a relatively effective method to such large-area wounds.